Because I couldn't fucking help myself, I asked, "What did you do before becoming Daisy's assistant?"
She inhaled a large breath, slowly turning toward me. "I was an artist."
"Artist?" Daisy snickered. "Let's not get carried away. You were a graphic designer."
"Yes, that's true," Kendall replied with no challenge in her voice, "but I did art on the side, mostly volunteer stuff."
"To ninety-year-olds at nursing homes, whose hands were too arthritic to even hold a paintbrush," Daisy chimed in again. "This offer is a snore-fest." Instead of setting the paper off to the side, she shredded it.
"And you gave all of that up to come here?" I asked Kendall.
She held her coffee against her lips, even after she finished swallowing, telling me the question made her uncomfortable. "I still do some art. Not in the same capacity, but I manage Daisy's social media, and I create and edit all the videos for her accounts and digitally master the photos."
I suddenly had an urge to check Daisy's accounts to see what kind of work Kendall was capable of-something I would do after this meeting.
That thought surprised me.
Beyond their bodies, I normally had no interest in the women I slept with, no desire to contact them when I woke the morning after. But when my housekeeper took my pants in for dry cleaning this week, she would find Kendall's note in the pocket, and she would place it on the island in my closet.
I wasn't sure why I had taken it home with me.
That was the truth that haunted me as I watched Daisy tear up another sheet.
"Is this a joke?" she snarled. "I don't know how to bake, and I'm lactose intolerant. Why would you think I'd be interested in this?"
While Kendall focused on her sister, I stared at her, analyzing every inch of her gorgeous fucking face.
Last night, she had been stunning.
But in the morning light, she was even more beautiful.
Sexy in a subtle, charming way. Riveting. And she had a heart-I could see that from over here. I could sense it in every answer she gave.
On that rooftop bar, she'd made me pause. She was doing the same thing now.
I leaned over the table, and the buttons on the sleeves of my suit made a sound as they scraped over the wood, causing Kendall to look at me.
"Have you ever considered getting into television?" I asked her.
She immediately shook her head, those seductive, dark curls falling across her cheeks. "No way. I don't have the face or the personality."
It was my turn to laugh. "I would have to disagree."
"I know you're not suggesting what I think you are," Daisy said to me as a warning. Then, she shifted her gaze to Greg. "This one"-she threw a contract at him as though it were a Frisbee-"is disgusting. Would you eat a live cockroach for a quarter of a million dollars?"
There was no doubt in my mind that Kendall had a future in TV. I could feel it in my fucking bones. I could see it as she stared back at me-the look that would appease America, the body every man would fucking crave to be inside of, the voice that wouldn't get on anyone's nerves.
It all just depended on whether or not she wanted it.
"What if I told you I could land you a role on an up-and-coming reality show? Would you take it?"
"Wait," Daisy snapped. "Isn't this meeting about me?"
"Your agent worked hard in finding the shows that are outlined in front of you," I responded to her. "This offer is only for your sister."
Daisy ground her teeth together while Kendall's jaw dropped.
"Dominick … you aren't serious?" Kendall said softly.
"I don't kid."
Those big, breathtakingly blue eyes were opened so wide that they were the size of half-dollars.
"I …" Kendall shook her head. "I don't know what to say."
I'd heard her speak those words before.
And I knew what they'd led to last time.
"Say yes, Kendall."
"Absolutely not," Daisy interrupted. Now addressing her sister, she said, "You're my assistant. That's why I brought you out here. I'm not sharing a manager and an agent and an attorney and a TV screen with you."
"No one said anything about sharing, Daisy." I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest. "This building is full of managers and agents who are more than qualified to represent your sister. You have your team. She will have hers."
Daisy glared at Greg. "How the hell does my attorney have a TV gig to offer my sister, and you can't find me a decent show to even consider?" She huffed. "This is bullshit."
"I don't want to upset her more than I already have," Kendall said, her eyes only on me. "Let's just focus on Daisy and finding her the best offer we can."
Daisy thrived when she was surrounded by people like Kendall. Girls who backed down because it wasn't worth the fight, who were kind and easier to manipulate, who would sacrifice their happiness for her.
I had zero skin in this game. I wouldn't make a penny if Kendall took the job. But my best friend needed a star, and there was one sitting in front of me right now.
"Kendall, look at me." It took several moments before her stare found mine. "Tell me what you want."
FIVE
KENDALL
C
oincidences.
There were times that were so ironic, so mind-blowing, that I had to pinch myself. That was what I'd done when I laid eyes on Dominick, sitting across the table from me in a deliciously handsome, dark suit, a silver striped tie, and the scent of shower and lust wafting over from him.
Really, what were the chances that the man I hadn't been able to stop thinking about was my sister's lawyer?
And now, he was staring at me, waiting for an answer to a question that was completely insane.
Me … acting … on a reality TV show?
No.